Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Short Interest Update

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 27,430,000 shares, a decrease of 6.9% from the January 15th total of 29,450,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 10,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halliburton news, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $3,689,712.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 127,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,321,149.13. This trade represents a 52.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in Halliburton by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 71,797 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 23,340 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,257,250 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $61,375,000 after purchasing an additional 80,567 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 56.5% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 157,085 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $4,563,000 after purchasing an additional 56,707 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Halliburton by 180.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 43,675 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 28,125 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,782,174 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $487,522,000 after buying an additional 3,150,986 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

NYSE HAL opened at $26.75 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.99. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $25.16 and a 52 week high of $41.56.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group downgraded Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Halliburton from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.42.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.